Soft Schedule No Time To Relax

Heat coach Pat Riley did not have trouble getting his team's attention Tuesday night, not when the opposition was the San Antonio Spurs at the Alamodome.

But Riley also recognized that the game was the exception on the Heat's schedule. The matchup in San Antonio was the lone game against a team with a winning record in an ongoing 12-game stretch.

Yet with his team lacking Alonzo Mourning and Anthony Carter, and with Dan Majerle and Don MacLean still rounding into shape, Riley insisted this is no time to get caught looking ahead, even with the Heat's next seven opponents holding a combined 74-138 record entering Tuesday's play.

Asked about the soft upcoming schedule, opposition with a combined .349 winning percentage, Riley said, "I know we're playing New Jersey Thursday; I don't know past that. We're going to put it game to game and I'm going to stay true to that."

Riley appreciates how quickly momentum can turn. It was a year ago at this time when the Heat strung together a confounding series of losses, against Chicago, New Jersey and Vancouver.

"It's game to game until you get 10 games over .500," he said. "We went from 6-10 to 18-14 [entering Tuesday's game], and we can't stop now.

"Otherwise, you take one breath and you're back at .500 again. Now is a time you take a push, looking at every single game."

Wither Rony?

Agent Steve Kauffman said center Rony Seikaly is hopeful of a return to the NBA this season, but "I've learned the Heat is not interested."

Kauffman said Seikaly has been spending time in Miami and that the Heat has obtained a recent tape of Seikaly, which shows the franchise's first-ever first-round pick, appearing to be in playing shape.

While teams can begin to extend 10-day contracts Friday, Kauffman said that date is insignificant because Seikaly "has much more market value."

A possible cure

While much has been made of the Heat standing at the bottom of the league in rebounding, Riley said Tuesday the best remedy for his undersized team is improved man-on-ball defense.

Riley said when other defenders have to offer help, his rebounders get caught out of position.

"One thing that we're not doing well, that is leading to breakdowns by everybody, is we're not containing the ball," he said. "If we can contain the ball better and really take care of penetration, our guys will be able to block people out." ...

As for the Heat's lack of height, Riley again was asked if he had any other ideas to make undersized Anthony Mason and Brian Grant more formidable for opposing big men. Riley's response? "We need to hang them by their thumbs about four hours a day." ...

Riley left the timetable open for Carter's return from his groin injury. The second-year point guard was eligible to be removed from the injured list Tuesday, but remains inactive. "He's day-to-day from this point on," Riley said. "He can move straight forward, but laterally there's pain."